"I must say I have turned down several great companies, so I'd probably say I have to keep learning," McClure said.

The 48-year-old said there are promising startup hubs springing up in Asia, and believes it's only a matter of time before the local tech scene comes of age.

"There's been entrepreneurs working in the Valley for probably 50-60 years," he said. "It's not to say that you can't create that in other places, but I think people are a little bit impatient about creating the next Silicon Valley."

"[Strong gross domestic product] growth in some countries, smartphone adoption that's huge, startups, talent, developers, engineers - all of that exists, it just takes time," he said. "I look at the Singapore government as a bit of a pressure cooker, reducing a four-hour cook-down down to two hours."

Lauria believes homegrown startups have an advantage over foreign ones, and is keen to see startups that understand the local market.

"We have penalized some startups for being a completely foreign team going to a market. They're actually at a huge disadvantage."

Nothing comes easy

Singapore's Ong Peng Tsin should know. The co-founder of Encentuate, Interwoven and Match.com has been to Silicon Valley and back. While the technology has gotten cheaper, the process of creating a successful company hasn't gotten easier, he said.

Ong recently started Monk's Hill, a venture capital firm focused on software, mobile and internet-driven businesses. It primarily provides Series A and B funding and is looking for companies that want to raise between $1-$5 million.

The "career entrepreneur" advises startups to focus on creating value: "The exit strategy is a side effect of success. Don't focus on the exit strategy when you're building a company. Focus on building value."

Former entrepreneur and Exitround's CEO Jacob Mullins has one piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: "Have options. Have the option to raise more money, have the option to continue growing your team, have the option to sell your company - make your investors a lot of money, make yourself a lot of money. None of that is bad; just make sure you have a lot of options."